“What Your Digital Footprint Tells Me About You” – Rodric Leerling

If I Googled you, what would I find? No, not just you, digital immigrant and experienced adult as you are, but much more should we ask this question to our children. Do they fully comprehend they left a big digital footprint already, ever since the moment they started hitting images on computer tablets and mobile phones?

In fact, from the moment we all started moving around the online world, we are leaving tracks and traces of our activity just all the time: think of social media accounts, the popular tagged images, your professional presences, scraps of text in mini blog platforms like Twitter and Facebook. And there are items we don’t even realize we leave behind, such as search activities and web browsing. Profiles are being drawn of us and data are gathered while we type in names, numbers and characters. And don’t forget the comments you made on other people’s views, the restaurant views or hotel experiences you uploaded, and the tagged pictures posted during the holidays.

So, unless you are not using social media platforms, having an online presence should be considered as a normal part of our digital lives. And leaving a digital footprint is very important as it will help to present yourself in support of your resume or LinkedIn profile. Everybody is active online, but few people today are aware of the picture it offers to others while checking you out. So make sure your online presence is correctly representing who you are. Get the balance between your professional and personal presence right. Let the digital footprint actually work for you, creating a positive first impression when your name is Googled.

Really, Google is the new background check. Better make sure your online reputation is in line with who you are.

 

“So sad to hear you are leaving us, Britons! – Rodric Leerling

Today March 29, Great Britain officially announced, following the outcome of their referendum, to leave the European Union. The Brexit shockwaves of this badly under-estimated popular vote are still being felt here on the Continent.

Although I understand the anti-European emotions fed by too much power being absorbed by ‘Brussels’ and too many countries on the east joining in a short time, it still is such a grotesk and dramatic decision. And as we know now, the arguments to vote for ‘leave’ were mostly based on false financial information and exaggerated immigration stories.

So sad to realize that people who were in favour of remaining didn’t think it was necessary to campaign. It wouldn’t go that far, would it? Neither did the ‘leave’ campaign team expect this outcome. The older generation and those fearing to lose their jobs to Eastern Europeans, massively went to the polls and by absence of enough ‘stay’ votes, they as minority voted to leave. The young generation were in favour of the EU but took things for granted, and are still in shock of what the older generation did to their future.

It’s too late now and negotiations are starting today to fix a divorce deal. But will it be ‘a deal’ or ‘no deal’? Big political question the coming months in London. Contributions still need to be paid. And the EU is still offering a parachute to cancel the exit process during the two year negotiations. I have no illusions though, as this is pretty final. So sad to see you go, just when we needed you badly in counter balancing the traditional power brokers on our eastern and southern borders.

All the best dear friends. Goodbye and farewell. We will be in touch!

“Being Googled is one thing, being YouTubed is next” – Rodric Leerling

We are living in a ‘reputation economy’ where people are ‘googling’ all the time. Google has in fact become the new background check, not only for products and services, but also for people. People are just googling all the time and actually making critical decisions based on what they find. What will they find about you?

For many people, you are who Google says you are. Isn’t that scary!

Google and other search engines are primarily text based, their algorithm programmed to find text and pictures based on tags and keywords. Indexes (to fill the 10 slots or hits on each page) are made not only on keywords but also based on the relevancy of the page’s semantics and back links. So it’s adamant you publish fresh, short bits of content regularly, relevant to your audience, illustrating who you really are and what you stand for. People will read and link to your (WordPress) home page and website.

Start making sure you are being found online. Google page1 will then soon read like a personal brand story. With the right tags in text and images, and back links, you will boost your online reputation and eventually create more business opportunities.

But the next step in your online reputation building is video content. YouTube, owned by Google, is the second largest search engine in the world. While people are watching videos on YouTube, they will use it as their new search engine. So whenever possible, check if a video was made during your performance and ask for footage when you give a presentation or interview. Add it to your online presence and show what you are made of!

 

 

“Not my hobby, but you should renew your profile pictures regularly” – Rodric Leerling

We had another good meeting with a potential new business network this week. We talked about the need to have a good personal positioning online. Not to white-wash any possible negative publicity, but rather to use the Google page 1 hits as your personal show case.

Google page 1 is where people will look to check you out (page 2 the perfect place to hide a dead body). As we all do before purchasing a new product, destination or service. What is available about you as a person and a businessman? Can they trust you and, even better, where do you stand for? Make no mistake, everyone is checking everyone, all the time.

Now, whether you are outspoken and proud person, or just a modest businessman, for Google it doesn’t matter, they will present you on whatever is available when being used for search. And ‘no news’ is not ‘good news’ because when all the 10 slots are blank, an opportunity to shine has gone wasted. Are you another nobody or a warm personality whom it’s great doing business with? It’s up to you.

After our meeting I had some pics taken to refresh my own personal presence. You will start seeing them appear on my blogs. When will I see yours being updated?

 

“I’m introducing video to support referee mentoring” – Rodric Leerling

Rodric Leerling, Leerling.biz, Sales Power Provider, RefRod, CoolBrandsPeople, Sportief Westfriesland

This weekend, the 2nd part of the football youth competition is supposed to start in the Netherlands. Since this week though, half of the nation is covered in snow and temps expected to stay below zero degrees Celsius. That part of Holland won’t play any football, that’s for sure.

But in my part, the western half, it’s frosty and snowy as well, but not all games have been cancelled yet. On the roster for tomorrow is a another new ref to accompany. It’s been a great experience ever since I finished the ref mentoring course. All the negative associations of a ref assessor don’t apply as I’m allowed to meet the ref before and afterwards. One is allowed to discuss his performance, hint on things during half time and I have even started sending video clips afterwards, showing the rookie ref what I meant in my written report.

Last week, I accompanied a relative experienced new ref – he already started five years ago – who needed a last push towards promotion. Somehow he had been neglected (his words) by the Football Assoc. I thought he did pretty well but should work on his condition and try to avoid long talks with players and coaches. I actually shot a video clip of how he took a player apart towards the end of the game, who should have been booked with a yellow card. Instead, he took him apart and said something (no gestures) and walked back slowly to the free kick spot, where the fouled team was waiting for the restart. Who’s time was being wasted here?

He was very grateful, not only for the positive report, but more so for the practical tips and, of course a novelty, receiving actual video proof of his performance and items to work on. I hope more mentors will start using their phones, not only to record your thoughts, but also to shoot quick clips.

 

“Creating Awareness for Need of Online Reputation Management” – Rodric Leerling

Rodric Leerling – Sales Power Provider, CoolBrands People, Online Reputation Management

All your posted online content like blogs, comments, pictures, videos and social media posts draw a picture of who you are. It will greatly determine whether people want to meet and eventually do business with you.

Are those images really you? Or you, but in a shady situation. Or totally not you because you didn’t tag your own pictures well. So when you are googled (and people do that all the time) does the image people get from Google page 1 fit with what differentiates you in the current market?

Online Reputation Management (or: ORM) is all about creating a strong online presence, one that enhances the ‘off-line me’ and helps create your current business. But even more importantly, it will help your next business goals. Where do you want to be in five years? Positioning yourself should not just be based on your current business successes and skills, but also on other dimensions in life. You are more than just your job title.

Look in the online mirror. Go and google yourself.

“Working on a Good Futsal Ref Reputation”- Rodric Leerling

Rodric Leerling, Leerling.biz, Sales Power Provider, RefRod, CoolBrandsPeople, Sportief Westfriesland

It’s been a while since my last referee assessment. Especially for my futsal referee activities.

To my surprise, I just noticed an assessor is assigned to watch and report my futsal game performance next week. That’s one year after the previous report. I double checked and indeed, my last futsal report was Feb 2016. Have they forgotten me? Have I ended up in the ‘deplorables’ category?

Frankly speaking, I don’t really care. I tried to get up one league last year and was put in a special promotion group but was let down by my mentor. The games I’m reffing are mostly handled nicely, with some exceptions due to obnoxious teams or coaches, or sometimes me being not 100% focused. I know most of the time who is to blame and apologize if it was me.

But to make it one more step up, more is required than just reffing a good game. Consider these elements that keep cropping up in reports:  making it to the base line regularly, taking correct game management steps (yellow cards, even when advantage is given). Crossing over for a re-start closer to your current sideline. Making sure the subs are done in a proper manner. Using right whistle tones and proper hand signals. Making sure the right distance is being taken at all restarts (5m). Talking to players in a polite but straight way (eye-to-eye). Showing a calm posture in everything. Counting at restarts (4sec) especially when the goalkeeper possesses the ball. And this is all done by just you. No assistants, no colleague refs. Just you. Sometimes in a pressure cooker game of 2×25 minutes.

Do I want to make that step up? Good question. My ego says ‘yes’, but never know what assessors make of it.

I will let you know after reading my first futsal report in 12 months.